#Georgia county where Ahmaud Arbery was killed sues to save police department

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Police cars sit in front of a mural during a protest after the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in May.
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The Georgia county where Ahmaud Arbery was killed is suing to stop a November referendum that would disband the local police department.

The Glynn County Commission is arguing that a new state law that allows locals to vote to abolish the county police force, which was passed by state lawmakers in the wake of Arbery’s death in February at the hands of three white men, is unconstitutional, the Brunswick News reported.

The referendum, scheduled for Nov. 3, calls for the county sheriff’s office to take over all law enforcement duties in Glynn County.

“This lawsuit is a challenge to the legality and constitutionality of these senate bills, and also seeks enforcement of and adherence to the procedural requirements mandated by Georgia law regarding calling and administering special elections, such as the one at issue in SB 509,” the suit said.

“This lawsuit also does not seek to question the ability of the current sheriff to provide law enforcement services in Glynn County.”

The suit claims that the referendum would create “insurmountable obstacles and create numerous problems” for election officials because the vote is due to take place as part of a separate special election in the county.

It names Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state Board of Elections, and all its members individually.

State legislators passed the law permitting the special election in June, following a botched investigation and delayed prosecution in Arbery’s death.

Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was jogging through a local neighborhood when three white men chased him down and shot him with a shotgun, claiming they thought Arbery was a burglar.

The three men — Greg McMichael and his son, Travis, and William “Roddie” Bryan — are facing murder charges in the case, but not until two months later. Greg McMichael is a former cop and investigator for the county prosecutor’s office.